Eclecticism

Eclecticism

ASIN: B00004Y6WQ

Track Listings

1. Fascinating Rhythm

2. Reaching for You

3. Valtz Opus 64 #2

4. First Gift

5. Surrey With the Fringe on Top

6. Last Night When We Were Young

7. Price of Admission

8. Pentiction

9. Night Reverie

10. Old Folks

11. Blues for the Common Man

Tracks:

Sunny Day
Swallow Me
Bow Down
Star Struck Bastard
Porn
Lighten I t Up
You Don't Exist
Dive In
Inconceivable
Try To Take Your Time
Pretty Freak
Fake
Private Affair
Lamentation

Customer Reviews:

The genius of Leah continues.......2007-07-03

On her second album, Leah branched out in more experimental directions. this album is edgier and less glossy than her first album, Veiled, but that is not a bad thing. While Veiled was about healing, Alchemy (as the name implies) is about experimentation. And her phenominal understanding of the art of songwriting and musical composition are displayed well here. It stands as a testament to the quality of this album that eight years after it was released it is experiencing a resurgence thanks to being featured prominently on So You Think You Can Dance. This album wasn't really advertised at all, and never got radio exposure. Through the power of cult followings, it is finally getting some of the exposure it is due. This album is a gem waiting to be uncovered, and you will not regret purchasing it. I bought it when it came out originally, and I still listen to it regularly, as I do with Veiled too. You will love this album!

Even better than her first album..........2003-03-22

Love this album more than her first! Very strong vocals & lyrics and very entertaining album overall!! I highly recommend this album.

Not only an excellent artist, but a wonderful person as well.......1999-10-24

I had the oppurtunity to meet Leah when I lived in San Diego, before she put out her first album. She actually played a demo tape for me in her car, and I remember wondering if the public had the capacity to appreciate her. I am SO GLAD IT DID! It was incredible. Since then, I've followed her career. I feel lucky to have crossed paths with her! She's got an amazing quality to her voice, and she's very beautiful.

GREAT CD!!.......1999-09-23

Leah Andreone has been my favorite singer for almost 3 years now. Her songs never get boring, because they are all very unique. She has a great talent for singing, and writing all kinds of different variaties of songs, all of which amaze me!!

A Totally Fresh and Interesting album.......1999-06-23

I bought this album on a whim - I had never heard of Leah before. I am amazingly impressed. This is one of the best albums I've heard in a long time. Her music complex, rich and vibrant. The songs cover a wide varitey of styles while still maintaining a similar element that connects them all together. The whole album has a very gothic sound to it while still being upbeat and funky. I highly recommend this album.

Average customer rating:

Nice performances, boring production quality
and the winner is Garaj Mahal

Blueberry Cave
Garaj Mahal
Manufacturer: Harmonized
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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Mondo Garaj
Cosmic Hug
Live, Vol. 1
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Boston T Party

ASIN: B000BI0WP4
Release Date: 2005-11-01

Tracks:

The Shadow
Alvin
Blueberry Cave
'Spect Rap
No 'Spect
Massive
Cosmic Elevator
Paladin
Bicycling In Bombay
Celtic Indian

Customer Reviews:

Nice performances, boring production quality.......2006-01-18

Great band- I've seen them a bunch of times. My only problem with this CD is the amateurish production. You can tell that it is basically homemade. It is a fine recording, I just wish that they would get into a top studio with a good producer to get a fuller, more polished sound. This is recorded pretty much straight, which is, I guess, a more jam band purist approach. I haven't heard the other CD's yet.

and the winner is Garaj Mahal .......2005-11-21

and the winner is: Garaj Mahal "Blueberry Cave"

Songs:
The Shadow (Eckhardt)
Alvin (Hertz)*
Blueberry Cave (Levy)
`Spect Rap (Eckhardt)
NO `Spect (Haque/Hertz)**
Massive (Hertz)
Cosmic Elevator (Eckhardt)***
Paladin (Levy)
Bicycling in Bombay (Garaj Mahal)*
Celtic Indian (Hertz)

Personnel:
Kai Eckhardt: Bass
Fareed Haque: Guitars
Eric Levy: Keyboards
Alan Hertz: Drums

Guests:
*DJ Fly Agaric: Turntables
**Tasha Levine: Vocals
***Shanan Edelheit: Vocals

Review:
Garaj Mahal, the Jazz Rock Jam Band Supergroup, has finally released its second studio recording to the delight of music lovers no matter their shape, size, or taste. There's just something about this recording that appeals to everyone. "A little bit of everything" is usually a recipe for disaster in the world of music. Most attempts leave the listener unsatisfied or the band isn't capable of delivering the goods. "Blueberry Cave" is a total success in every respect. Jam Band lovers will enjoy this recording because it has that cosmic groove so essential to a good Jam Band. Jazz Rock fans will love it because the compositions, performance, and soloing are top shelf, reminiscent of the Jazz Rock pioneer groups such as Mahavishnu Orchestra, Weather Report, and Return to Forever.

Garaj Mahal bridges the gap between Jazz Rock and Jam Band like no one else. The main reason is that with Jazz Rock fans, it's not enough to be a great musician, you have to be an amazing musician. That's no knock on the fantastic talent in the world of Jam Bands, just a proclamation of Garaj Mahal's incredible musical gifts. Individually, Kai Eckhardt and Fareed Haque have played with a virtual Who's Who of Jazz Rock musicians, while Eric Levy and Alan Hertz are equally capable of doing the same. As a group, they come together and speak in one voice as clearly and in most cases better than the best Jazz Rock or Jam Bands on the scene today.

Blueberry Cave certainly contains a little bit of everything from the cosmic groove, funky on the corner, Eastern flavor, children of Miles, to "a little Grateful Dead is always good for the soul". Consequently, I'm inclined to say "a little Garaj Mahal is good for the soul"!!! There's no getting around it, these guys have something special that feels good and brings a smile to your face and your day.

I've been listening to Garaj Mahal for some time now and downloaded dozens of their free concerts from The Archives. With all that exposure, I was expecting this studio recording to be a disappointment because of the band's obvious love for performing in front of an audience. To my surprise and delight, Blueberry Cave showed another side of the band that is usually reserved for professionals of only the highest caliber. This recording brings together all the individual and group gifts without a weak link anywhere. The compositions hold up after many listens and the performance is nothing short of spectacular.

No matter your musical tastes, Garaj Mahal's newest recording Blueberry Cave is a "must have" Cd for everyone's collection. It doesn't just feel good, it IS good. In the world of today's musical diversity, the winner is Garaj Mahal Blueberry Cave!

By,
Rick Calic
jazzrockworld dot com

Average customer rating:

Gorgeous
Looking out
THIS IS YOUR CUP OF TEA
A unique and possibly timeless album

Looking for Landmarks
Two Loons for Tea
Manufacturer: Sarathan Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Indie Rock | Indie & Lo-Fi | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Two Loons for Tea
country international records
Lilywhite
Ladyland
Picture Perfect Morning

ASIN: B00006HCTE
Release Date: 2002-09-03

Tracks:

Blue Suit
Looking for Landmarks
Dying for Love
Blood for Sugar
Sad Diamonds
She's Not Worth the Worry
Shape of Strange
Green Limousine
Emily
The Prisoner
This Mortal Rodeo
Emily Dickinson

Amazon.com

All that can be sensual, mysterious, and sexy about pop music is found in Looking for Landmarks, the second release by the collective Two Loons for Tea. Led by singer Sarah Scott and songwriter/multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Kochmer, Two Loons infuse their album with flourishes of jazz and progressive rock. Yet despite its complexity, the disc is accessible, thanks in large part to Scott's thrilling melodic narrations. She is a confident explorer whose gossamer vocals transcend classification; Scott touches on funk or allows her voice to trail off into a world-weary vibrato reminiscent of Billie Holiday. The album's roster of guest musicians, including drummer Matt Chamberlain (Garbage, Fiona Apple), guitarist Trey Gunn (King Crimson), and violinist Eyvind Kang (Bill Frisell), complements the songs' deep well of world rhythms, style, and experimentation. Landmarks is expertly executed; its many luminous layers radiate through flawless, organic production. Finally, the disc massages the ear with exotic soundscapes that reward the listener with subtle but endless detail. Pop hasn't seen an outfit this sophisticated since Portishead. --Beth Massa

Album Description

"Looking for Landmarks" is an album of delicious sensuality and ear-expanding musical eclecticism from the Seattle-based modern-pop collective Two Loons for Tea (led by Sarah Scott [vocals & lyrics] and Jonathan Kochmer [guitars, composition & production]).

From the voluptuous rhythms of "Blood for Sugar" and "She's Not Worth the Worry," to the hip-thrusting funk-rock of "Shape of Strange" and the sage-scented melodies of "Sad Diamonds," "Looking for Landmarks" is an enigmatic pop masterwork that establishes Two Loons For Tea as one of contemporary pop's most passionate and adventurous new groups.

"Looking for Landmarks" features performances by some of the finest musicians and technicians of our time, including producer Eric Rosse (Tori Amos); drummer Matt Chamberlain (Garbage, Fiona Apple, Elton John, Macy Gray); engineer Kevin Killen (Elvis Costello, U2, Peter Gabriel, Kate Bush); Warr guitarist Trey Gunn (King Crimson, David Sylvian); bassist Brad Houser (Edie Brickell, John Doe, Critters Buggin); bassist Paul Bushnell (Ednaswap); percussionist Mike Dillon (MC 900 Foot Jesus, Pigface, Critters Buggin); violinist Eyvind Kang (Bill Frissell, Mr. Bungle) and soundscapist Jeff Greinke (Land).

The result of all this virtuosic firepower is a sprawling album that honors no musical or lyrical boundaries. In Scott's and Kochmer's fanciful creative world, loose-limbed R&B rhythms mingle with bluesy vocals, supple jazz-rock melodies, ethereal guitars and lyrics that possess the haunting allegorical power of dreams. With its poetic allusions and musical eclecticism, "Looking for Landmarks" accurately captures the exquisite strangeness of our fast-changing age.

Customer Reviews:

Gorgeous.......2007-07-09

Gorgeous. Gorgeous. Gorgeous. It seems to me that there are two ways of loving Two Loons for Tea. The first way is the simplest. You are a sucker for the beautiful voice of a beautiful woman. So you play "Sad Diamonds." And while you listen to the beautiful Sarah Scott, the unaggressive fullness of Two Loons' sound sneaks up and slowly cocoons you.

Or maybe you love Two Loons for their genre-fusing genius. This love starts the same way, simply enough, with Sarah Scott's voice. Doesn't she sound, 1 minute and 41 seconds into track 8, exactly like Joan Armatrading? But Sarah Scott's voice has many sounds, from Tori Amos to Norah Jones to Nelly Furtado to Macy Gray, and your list soon grows too full. So you turn to the music, but this list is no shorter. The melody of "Blood for Sugar" sounds like a delightfully relaxed Paul Simon. Portions of the "Shape of Strange" remind you of Me'Shell NdegeOcello. You begin to understand that Two Loons is trip-hop and pop and jazz and rock and electronica, and even folk and funk, on occasion. You begin to understand that this is one of the most sophisticated, pleasurable, and entirely fresh albums you've had the fortune to hear in a long time.

Looking out.......2005-02-20

One of the most underrated indie-pop bands of the twenty-first century is probably Two Loons For Tea. Like their self-titled debut, "Looking for Landmarks" is a sultry blend of jazz, pop, trip-hop and smooth guitar, without much of a downside at all.

It certainly says something about the musical quality if it's produced by Tori Amos' former producer Eric Rosse, and has Fiona Apple's drummer Matt Chamberlain. It's a bit more accessable than their smooth debut, starting out with alluring powerpop "Blue Suit," with its sinuous Hammond melodies and catchy hooks.

But with the second song, they lapse into deeper turf, with the swirling title track and the prog-flavored "Dying For Love." After that, it's a tangle of flexible jazz-rock and ethereal ballads. Sometimes the songs are a mix of the two, like in the sultry, panoramic "Prisoner." And at the very end is a hidden track: a slow, atmospheric song, which builds up slowly to a stately prog-jazz beat. Very weird, but also very interesting.

"Looking for Landmarks" is a teeny bit more accessable than its predecessor, with those wicked pop hooks and catchy rhythms. But Two Loons For Tea don't fall prey to the dumbing-down that many bands do. Their music stays complex and multilayered, even when it's catchy -- listen to "Green Limousine's" atmospheric opener, before Two Loons start to rock out.

The two Loons -- that is, the ones that are always there -- are Sarah Scott and Jonathan Kochmer. Scott contributes her sweet vocals and songcraft: "And I was not born for morning,/or abstract love, or silent notes." And Kochmer, as well as being cowriter, also contributes four kinds of guitar, plus bass and string arrangements. But he's not the only one.

The instrumentation is so complicated that it's sometimes hard to sort out, as in the glittering last half of "Dying For Love." It doesn't hurt to have Matt Chamberlain doing some of his most impressive percussion work, backed by Rosse's piano, Hammond and Casion, and Eyvind Kang's exquisite string arrangements. Meshed together, the instrumentation is lush and almost intoxicating.

Few pop bands can reach the heights of Two Loons For Tea, and "Looking For Landmarks" proves that their debut was no fluke. Definitely something to check out, while waiting for their forthcoming third album.

THIS IS YOUR CUP OF TEA.......2002-12-09

Building on the strengths of their first album, Two Loons For Tea comes back with "Looking For Landmarks". With rich, full instrumentation, catchy melodies and beautiful vocals, the Loons have carefully produced an album equally enhanced by bright freshness and deep soulfulness. Vocalist Sarah Scott and multi-instrumentalist Jonathan Kochmer are joined here by an A-list roster of musicians who've earned their stripes with such acts as Fiona Apple, Tori Amos, Macy Gray, Elton John, King Crimson and many more, but the songs are never overshadowed by show-boating. The guests elegantly weave into the musical cloth, building its strength. This is classy album that shuns labeling and is not to be missed. Look for it on many end of the year `best of' lists.

A unique and possibly timeless album.......2002-10-02

I've been seeing rave reviews of Two Loons for Tea online, and bought "Looking for Landmarks" right away. This exquisite album hasn't left my CD changer since, and I've bought more copies for friends.

First... what genre is it? It's some kind of pop, but touches so broadly and frequently on other genres (rock, ambient, Asian, funk, folk, alternative, jazz, classical, etc.) that it doesn't fit neatly into existing categories. Two Loons somehow melds these influences into one coherent sound. Are they forging a new genre? Eclectipop? Smartpop? Sophistipop?

Every song is a unique gem, but consistently features strong and confident vocal performances by Sarah Scott and superb supporting musical performances by her multi-instrumentalist bandmate Jonathan Kochmer (and the 19 other musicians they rounded up -- the quality and diversity of contributors to Two Loons for Tea is remarkable, ranging from jazz musicians in the NYC Knitting Factory crowd, to Tori Amos' original producer, Eric Rosse).

Here's some brief reviews of each song in an attempt to convey the sprawling beauty of this album:

1. Blue Suit: A peppy power-pop ditty with driving percussion and guitars and a rousing chorus. Great for opening an album, though it's more mainstream than the album as a whole. Distinctly a summer-time song.

2. Looking for Landmarks: Deservedly the title track (and the real beginning of the album) with the relaxed sensuality Two Loons achieves better than most anyone else: consistently transports one elsewhere. Lovely and moving lyrics ("Do you hear the chorus in the canyon / as you spend another evening alone? You must accept / when an ending comes / breathe... just breathe"). Especially nice are the vocal lead-in to the chorus, sparkly acoustic guitar lines throughout (which evoke summer sunlight on a windy lake), and an outro that exhales soft and accepting sighs into silence.

3. Dying for Love: Flamboyant ethnic-flavored guitars and percussion leading to verses with insistent and shoulder-bobbing rhythms, and then a soaring chorus. There are many ethnic influences in this piece (Balkan, Brazilian, and Spanish), and somehow it all works.

4. Blood for Sugar: Wistful and poignant song with world-weary singing and lyrics of bittersweet delicacy ("a tuxedo / a promise / a ceremony, a compromise / she's trading blood for sugar") and choruses with a Phil-Spectorish wall-of-sound luxuriousness. But Two Loons again surprises by veering off into what sounds like Central-Asian bazaar music and again, they make this unlikely juxtaposition work.

5. Sad Diamonds: Simply vocal and guitars and simply one of the most beautiful songs I've ever heard. Shivers and tingles every time. Although the lavish instrumentation of the rest of "Landmarks" is fabulous, a duo acoustic album from Two Loons would be a special treat.

6. She's Not Worth the Worry: This must be why Two Loons is compared to U2: imagine U2 shucking Bono for a female vocalist and hiring a chamber orchestra: you'd get something very like this song.

7. Shape of Strange: How strange indeed! Suddenly the Two Loons musical mystery bus goes on soul-funk caravan complete with booty-shakin'-bass and rousing gospelesque call-and-response vocals. But Sarah Scott's confident vocals and allusive lyrics stamp it unequivocally as a Two Loons tune.

8. Green Limousine: The only song on the album that flaunts this band's Seattle roots: a brooding dark insistence and explosive soft-verse / loud-chorus structure reminiscent of Seattle alternative (spiked with Floydish doses of prog-rock?). There's so much going on in the chorus that the listener becomes delirious which may be the intended effect given some of the lyrical content ("he's the freeway pharmacist / the cars are waiting in a line / while he read Voltaire / in his wheelchair / edge of the freeway / drive-through heroin / and caviar / the freeway pulses / with the blood of the city"). The soloed vocals at the end are a chilling and perfect lead into:

9. Emily: The album began in summer, and now we're led into a haunted house in the hollowness of winter. Spare and dark music, creepy subliminal sounds, and a supernatural experience in a wide stereo field.

10. The Prisoner: A good song, but maybe a tad long. Great vocals in the soaring chorus and bridge. Still head-and-shoulders above lots on the radio these days.

11. This Mortal Rodeo: The best way to describe this gently enigmatic tune may be "world-wise-sophisti-pop". The string sections could be an imaginary and melancholic Bollywood soundtrack, the guitars and percussion convey wisdom of weary workers in a village square, the horns are a haunting cry from a lovesick mermaid, and the lyrics encourage a thoughtful re-evaluation of the privileged in this world.

12. Emily Dickinson: The album closes with an instrumental version of Track 9 (Emily). One now feels as if one has passed on and gone to a parallel universe floating above the album you have just heard.

Tracks:

Vampiro Tropical
Locuras De Siempre
Solo Solo Me Gusta Ud
Oh, Me Llamen De La Calle
Yo No Bailo Con Juana
Luna De Miel En La Luna
Sahara
En Lloro Mi Nankue
Eclipse De Sol
Lo Dije Antes
Tornado

Average customer rating:

STUNNING !

Eclecticism
Carl Saunders
Manufacturer: Quicksilver
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Bebop General | Bebop | Jazz | Styles | Music

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Be Bop Big Band
Can You Dig Being Dug?
Out of the Blue
Out of the Blue
Phil Urso and Carl Saunders Salute Chet Baker

ASIN: B00004Y6WQ
Release Date: 2000-08-29

Tracks:

Fascinating Rhythm
Reaching for You
Valtz Opus 64 #2
First Gift
Surrey With the Fringe on Top
Last Night When We Were Young
Price of Admission
Pentiction
Night Reverie
Old Folks
Blues for the Common Man

Customer Reviews:

STUNNING !.......2004-12-26

This is one of the finest jazz albums ever. AWESOME musicianship, engineering, unusual musical "surprises" every few bars, and superb integration of violins, french horns, etc. with the rock solid rhythm section and soloists. It simply can't be any better than this. Do yourself a favor and immediately buy 5 copies for yourself and your friends...they'll love you for it!

Average customer rating:

amazing live punky jazz album
raunchy urban jazz for postmodern times...

Eclecticism
Kazutoki Umezu
Manufacturer: Knitting Factory
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Alternative Rock | Styles | Music

Japan | Far East & Asia | International | Styles | Music

Avant Garde & Free Jazz | Jazz | Styles | Music

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Experimental Music | Miscellaneous | Styles | Music

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General | Jazz | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B00000207S
Release Date: 1994-08-02

Tracks:

Yakitori
Western Picaro
Juicy Mami
Horse Work
Stable Steven
Lulu & Roro
Junk
Ballet Dancer

Album Description

Umezu's first KFR recording, featuring downtown luminaries Marc Ribot, Dougie Bowne, Curtis Fowlkes, Samm Bennett, and Brad Jones.

Customer Reviews:

amazing live punky jazz album.......2003-03-12

If you like The Lounge Lizards or Marc Ribot's Rootless Cosmopolitans (both of which share a few members with the lineup on this album) chances are you'll love this album. It is jazz but in the widest sense of the word, encompassing world music, spaghetti westerns, punk, and whatever else.

From that point of view, as well as the fact that a powerful, squealing sax player leads the group, this can be likened to John Zorn's Naked City. But that's pretty much where the likeness ends - while Naked City is slick, Umezu's band is raw and dirty. Guitarist Marc Ribot is the obvious choice to play this music, and he certainly stands out here, his beautiful crunchy tone all over this recording. But the whole band is fantastic, Curtis Fowlkes on trombone, Brad Jones on bass, Samm Bennett on percussion, Dougie Bowne on drums, and of course the wonderful Kazutoki Umezu on reeds.

The compositions (all Umezu originals) are extremely varied - the noisy swing of Yakitori, the spaghetti of Western Picaro, the beautiful drone of Juicy Mami, the funky latin Stable Seven and the wonky waltz of Ballet Dancer.

It's pretty remarkable that all eight brilliant pieces are taken from one live show, but according to the booklet this all went down at the Knitting Factory on the 27th of October 1992. An amazing show, and an amazing album.

raunchy urban jazz for postmodern times..........2000-11-12

Members of the Lounge Lizards and The Jazz Passengers appear in this lineup, Ribot's guitar is a big, driving presence, and Mr. Umezu blows a very Zornlike sax -- but is less shy about giving full-on jazzy solos (unlike Zorn, who has said he's concerned about seeming to tread on Afro-American cultural turf by getting too "jazzy")... These should be reasons enough for anyone to buy this disk. It has big, dark, swinging tunes, as rich (but not as noisy or layered) as GROUND ZERO PLAYS STANDARDS, and evokes a universal urban exuberance which the players clearly delight in. It's not FREE, but it is fairly LOUD and full-on; don't expect a lot of meditative coolness here. More rock-oriented folk might get into it, too. Swingin' stuff for hipsters everywhere...

Average customer rating:

The Shi...
Kaz , and Supernova
Manufacturer: Supernova Soundlab
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rap & Hip-Hop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CA3488
Release Date: 2004-04-13

Average customer rating:

Now Showing at a Theater Near You
Theater of Innocence , and Fred Israel
Manufacturer: ethereal material
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CADB54
Release Date: 2005-11-01

Average customer rating:

Even better than the first CD!!!!

Goin' Over
Sleepy Hollow
Manufacturer: Big Nose Records
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Rock | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

Progressive Metal | Progressive | Rock | Styles | Music

General | Hard Rock & Metal | Styles | Music

Pop Rock | Pop | Styles | Music

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General | Rock | Indie Music | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0001RZGAQ
Release Date: 2004-03-01

Tracks:

Goin' Over - I. Broken Water
II. Seedy Sales
III. F.A.T.
IV. Bad Reflection
V. Blast Off
VI. Collapse
VII. Farewell To A Friend
VIII. Broken Wings
Pay The Price
Under The Ground
90's Child
Mare Crastinum
Rock Hard

Album Description

GOIN' OVER shows a heavier side of Sleepy Hollow than their debut EP, more focused on thick organ sounds and drop-tuned guitars. Still, the band continues to be rooted in classic hard rock, metal, and prog more than the modern sound - although they make good use on this album of nu-metal, modern power metal (a la Iced Earth), and even a touch of death metal vocals. Their style of progressive hard rock owes more to the meaty sophistication of bands like Jethro Tull, Deep Purple, and Iron Maiden than the extravagant virtuosity of the modern progressive metal scene.

The first half of the album is dedicated to the 20-minute title piece, portraying a young man's descent through increasingly dangerous drugs with different styles of music reflecting the various drugs. (The segments are tracked separately, and stand alone as individual, shorter songs.) Beginning with a Renaissance-inflected acoustic section, with 3 flutes entering at different times, the song then goes into a nice classic metal section. This is followed by a strong funky groove propelled by Frank's wonderful drumming (a strong point of the album throughout) and Joe's organ bass, underneath a funky wah guitar riff and some filthy vocals that take no time for breath. A heavy speed metal segment leads to an excellent foray into nu-metal (with a nod to King Crimson in the bridge). This gives way to a very heavy metal section, which then transforms (retaining the same chord changes) into a mellow section with clean guitar and harmony vocals that brings to mind Pink Floyd. A soaring guitar solo leads to a march, and the opening theme is recapped on harp to end the piece. The overall effect should please both those seeking ambitious music and those who wish to rock out without making an effort.

The remaining half of the album is made up of 5 songs of more traditional length. "Pay the Price" is an aggressive, driving hard rocker. "Under the Ground" is a heavy dirge about being buried alive that still manages to groove. The combination of one of the heaviest organ sound in rock with ethereal keyboard "ahs" and death metal vocals in the chorus make this track a perfect synthesis of influences from the whole history of metal. "90's Child", on the other hand, isn't metal at all, but a catchy pop rock ode to Generation Whine that reminds one of Jethro Tull's "Teacher". "Mare Crastinum" starts out quiet, with a vocal reminiscent of Geoff Tate and some excellent poetic lyrics, then builds up into a powerful heavy metal tsunami. The classically-influenced instrumental section, with all four musicians swirling around each other, shows how great a skilled band can sound when everyone's working together rather than trying to steal the show individually. The album closes on a lighter note with "Rock Hard", a radio friendly classic rock anthem with all four singers trading vocals.

Customer Reviews:

Even better than the first CD!!!!.......2004-09-18

I thought Sleepy Hollow's first CD was great, this was even better! I especially love how the first set of songs make up a story and then there are several individual songs after them, and they are great too. Also, again all the songs sound different and all the members sing lead on different songs. I recommend that people buy this CD in addition to their EP.

Average customer rating:

Along Celtic Lines

Manufacturer: Flowinglass
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Folk | Styles | Music
ASIN: B000CA6JVC
Release Date: 2004-06-15

Jazz Music:

Jazz Music

Jazz Music